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Steinmeier Concludes Middle East Trip with Talks in Syria

Beirut: After landing at the airport, Steinmeier dedicated a security scanner donated by Germany.

Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier concluded his trip to the Middle East on Monday with a visit to Syria, where he met with President Bashar al Assad and with Foreign Minister Walid al Muallem, among others.

The meetings in Damascus were the last leg of Steinmeier’s trip, during which he held talks in Jordan, the Palestinian territories, Lebanon and Israel before traveling on to Syria. Steinmeier also visited the German Navy unit serving as part of UNIFIL.

The goal of the trip was to explore the leeway and chances for diplomatic progress in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and for the situation in Lebanon.

On December 1 in Jordan, Foreign Minister Steinmeier took part in a meeting of G8 foreign ministers with the foreign ministers of the Middle East region and North Africa. This “Forum for the Future” has been taking place annually since 2004. With the G8 Presidency in 2007, Germany will also hold the co-chairmanship of this forum. He held talks with the Jordanian foreign minister as well as his Saudi and Egyptian counterparts on the sidelines of this conference.

In the Palestinian territories Foreign Minister Steinmeier met with President Abbas and other Palestinian politicians.

In Lebanon on Saturday, Steinmeier met with Prime Minister Siniora and parliamentary speaker Berri.

He then made a stop off the coast of Cyprus to visit German troops aboard the frigate Brandenburg, which is patrolling the Lebanese coast within the UNIFIL mandate.

In Israel on Sunday, Steinmeier met with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.

This was Steinmeier’s sixth trip to the Middle East this year.

December 4, 2006

Government & Politics